VANCOUVER WILLING TO CONCEDE NFL FRANCHISE TO TORONTO

Although NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue indicated the NFL
could expand into Canada, maybe as soon as '97, the city of
Vancouver does not expect to be a home for the new team. Warren
Buckley, President of BC Pavilion Corp., which runs BC Place, the
home of the CFL BC Lions, said there has "been little or no
discussion about expansion for a full-time NFL franchise here.
... Toronto is different. They have ownership behind them
(Labatt)." Buckley did say that there have been discussions
about hosting an exhibition game in the future (Bill Comrie,
Vancouver PROVINCE, 2/1). Also in Vancouver, Archie MacDonald
writes, "If we subscribe to the notion that there is fire where
there is smoke, we can expect the [NFL] to be burning brightly in
Toronto before the turn of the century" (VANCOUVER SUN, 2/1).